Creature Meets Culture

Animal shelters are built into the fabric of our society...but how did they get their start? Debbie brings Haley an episode about Britain's first animal shelter, The Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs. When Mary Tealby started the home in 1860, she had no way of knowing she was creating what would become the building blocks for institutions that would save the lives of countless animals...

Debbie brings another bird episode to Haley because we just can't get enough! Today we're learning about Rosalie Edge, a fierce advocate for birds who held the Audubon Society accountable in the 1930s. During a time when the conservation group wasn't holding hunting groups accountable and wasn't standing up for species. Join us as we learn about her prolific work for bird advocacy....

Debbie brings Haley another bird episode! We've got fancy hate, old time-y drama, and women who change the world for birds! We're diving into the story of Harriet Hemenway and Minna Hall and the birth of the Audubon Society. Let's Connect: insta: @creaturemeetsculture creaturemeetsculture@gmail.com Sources: https://www.audubon.org/art/birds-of-america/snowy-heron-or-white-egret https:/...

Haley has already told us all about Jackie and Shadow (catch up with episode 30 if you haven't already), but there's been a lot happening with our beloved Big Bear Bald Eagles, and Haley has all the tea for us. Heads up, it's not a very cheery update, but there is a whole lot to get caught up on! So buckle up an join us! Let's Connect! insta: @creaturemeetsculture creaturemeetscult...

We've got a special guest today, people! Debbie is joined by her lovely and very supportive Max, who listens to the story of the time in history when government employees brought 76 beavers up into a plane and dropped them in parachutes! What started as a project to relocate beavers out of populated areas without killing them turned into a conservation tactic to restore ecosystems back to thei...

Debbie brings Haley a story about whales that helped bring us whale protection laws we still depend on today. When an album exclusively comprised of whale songs was released in 1970, only a few biologists understood the impact the project could have internationally. Their predictions and hope became a reality as people around the world connected with the unique, relaxing, and sometimes melodic sou...

Debbie brings Haley a true rags-to-riches story. When American Serviceman Lee Duncan rescued a littler of puppies and their mother from a bombed German kennel center in France in 1918, no one could have predicted that one of those puppies would become a world-renowned silent film star. Lee Duncan adopted Rin Tin Tin and took him back to Los Angeles when the war ended, starting the pup's famous...

Debbie brings Haley a story that is so unfathomable you will either think 1. they had to have made this up (we didn't) or 2. how haven't I heard about this yet? In 1981, a ranch dog named Shep killed a small animal likely burrowing in his owner's backyard. But that small animal was a black-footed ferret, a species that had been believed to be extinct for years and that biologists had d...

In this week's episode, Savanna brings Debbie a story most of us have seen images of Smokey the Bear in fire-prone areas across the country. But the true tale dates back to the 1940s and involves a large team dedicated to reducing the number of wildfires. Let's Connect: insta: @creaturemeetsculture creaturemeetsculture@gmail.com Sources: https://www.britannica.com/animal/black-bear https:/...

Haley brings a story to Debbie that not only took the world by storm, but also inspired a years-long project that will massively improve the wildlife in LA. In 2012, P22, a mountain lion living in Los Angeles, crossed two LA freeways as a young cat and lived alone for a decade in Griffith Park, becoming a beloved local celebrity. He became an ambassador for the animals impacted by habitat fragment...

Debbie and Haley dive into another marine mammal episode, and this is one that really lured Debbie in. Springer was an orphaned orca calf in Puget Sound off Vashon Island, Washington, in January 2002. While the rescue efforts took 6 months to execute, countless people worked together to successfully find a way to carry out the first rescue, rehabilitation, and release of an orca. This not only bro...

Savanna and Debbie have a heartwarming dog episode for you! During WWII, a tiny Yorkshire Terrier named Smoky was found in an abandoned foxhole and adopted by American soldier Bill Wynne, who quickly noticed she had a calming, uplifting effect on the people around her. That instinct carried into the years after the war, when Wynne brought her to veterans' hospitals across the country, where sh...

It's all three of us, people! Haley tells Debbie and Savanna all about the state bird of Utah, the California Gull. You may be thinking, 'Why is a bird named after a different state the bird of Utah?' And you wouldn't be alone! But there's a great answer! Haley takes us back to Utah in 1848 when swarms of katydids nearly destroyed their crops. And the hero is an unlikely one. C...

Haley and Debbie are here with a dog story that has the same trajectory of any dog movie: starts out great, makes you fall in love with the most precious pup, has a terribly sad ending. But this one has a component most dog movies don't: the US Railway Mail Service! Come join us as we discuss the intricacies of a long-outdated but formative process of bringing mail to America's doorsteps. Owney wa...

It's Debbie and Savanna this week, and heads up, it's a dark one. When Vitus Bering died while on an expedition to the far-off islands off the coast of Russia, his surviving crew brought back an item that would define an industry and have devastating effects that would take hundreds of years to begin to restore. Let's Connect: insta: @creaturemeetsculture creaturemeetsculture@gmail.com Sea Otter S...

Debbie brings Haley another bird episode because she's the best friend around! Did you know that the eagle wasn't legally made the national bird until 2024? We didn't know! And after the eagle was first put on that great seal that we still see all over the place today, the eagles themselves had a pretty terrible time of it thanks to the powerful insecticide, DDT. But this is a happy ep...

Debbie brings Haley a birrrd episode! And not just any bird episode, we’re talking about the guy who wrote the very first book on Ornithology (the study of birds)! Frederick II (1194-1250) was the ruler of a whole lot of countries, not to mention the Holy Roman Emperor, and he dedicated a lot of his power and resources to make the study of birds more scientific and reliable. Come join us for a dee...

Debbie and Savanna are here for the incredible story of Winter the Dolphin. A baby dolphin was found tangled in a crab trap and was rescued by a fisherman who came over to see what was going on. Sea World Institute brought her to Clearwater Marine Aquarium west of Tampa, Florida where her lengthy rehabilitation began. In the process of her rehab, she lost her tail and her adapted way of swimming p...

Debbie and Savanna overcome every technical issue under the sun to bring you this epic story of the initial packs of wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995. Within these first packs lived a runt named Wolf 8, who grew up to mate with a widowed alpha female with 8 pups. Wolf 8 proved himself to be an exceptional alpha, protecting his young, providing for them, and yet exercising compassion and...

Savanna, Haley, and Debbie are here for Orion, the Rottweiler who set the Guinness World Record for the most amount of people rescued by a dog in 24 hours. During the deadliest mudslide in history (also a world record), the people of Vargas State, Venezuela, were in a state of desperate crisis. Orion, a beloved family dog, was left behind his family who were rescued by helicopter. The exact motive...

Debbie and Savanna bring you the story of Koko the gorilla. Many of us have heard of Koko. Maybe you've seen the videos of Robin Williams laughing with Koko, or maybe you've seen one where a barefoot Mr. Rogers is cuddling with her. Her knowledge of sign language and perceived ability to communicate broke barriers of what we previously believed a gorilla could do. But as the story unfolded...

It's a Haley episode! And not just that...it's a Haley episode AND a bird episode! So you're not going to want to miss this one. We're talking about the famous Jackie and Shaow, the two bald eagles whose nest in Big Bear is livestreamed 24/7 most months of the year. Their yearly clutches capture the heart of hundreds of thousands around the world and there's a good reason why....

Haley and Debbie are here to tell you the history behind the "canary in a coal mine" saying and there are tiny american flags, canary-sized oxygen cages, and lots of giggles. Let's Connect! instagram: @creaturemeetsculture creaturemeetsculture@gmail.com Sources: Dig episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/canary-in-a-coal-mine-literally/id1271238763?i=1000561501023 Show notes:...

Haley and Debbie sit down for a story that inspired lots of tangents, opinions, and deep thoughts and reflections! In 1989, a military surveillence system picked up a whale call at a frequency never heard before. With a call at a frequency of 52 hertz, the whale earned its name and decades of fame to go along with it. When researchers studied and shared the story of this whale, thousands of people...

Haley and Debbie are here for an episode that has been in the works since the inception of this podcast...The U.S. Navy's Dolphin program! Currently based out of Point Loma, San Diego, these dolphins have trained as couriers, as well as mine and enemy detectors. A large amount of the scientific research we have on bottlenose dolphins was also donw within this program, previously located at Point M...